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HouTran was a public transportation company that served the Houston area. While its last iteration was publicly-owned by the City of Houston, it was privately-owned throughout the vast majority of its existence. Throughout several name changes and ownership acquisitions, the company's modes of operation ranged from mule-drawn streetcars to electrified streetcars, and finally to busses. In 1979, it was succeeded by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, a state-authorized local transit authority, when it was purchased by that agency as the basis for its then new transit system.

Original charter & horsecar operation
The company's origins can be traced back to 1870, when the company was chartered as the Houston City Street Railway Company with J.H. Scanlan as President. However, it was not until June 24, 1871 that the Houston City Council passed an ordinance that granted the company right-of-way. Despite the grant, it was not until 1874 that it began operations as a mule-driven streetcar company. The company's original line ran from Union Station that was operated by International–Great Northern Railroad to the Houston and Texas Central Station. In 1877, the company's assets included three miles of track, fourteen streetcars, and about one-hundred mules.

Electrified streetcar conversion, expansion, & reorganization
By 1890, the company owned fifty miles of track, fifty streetcars, and three-hundred horses. That year, it acquired its sole competitor Bayou City Street Railway Company that had began operation the year prior. In 1891, the company began using electric streetcars based on technology invented by the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, and fully converted from mule-driven cars by the following year.

On May 6, 1896, the Houston Electric Street Railway Company acquired the Houston City Street Railway Company while under foreclosure. This company itself was foreclosed upon, and was reorganized as the Houston Electric Company.